Emilia-Romagna · Bologna
Dozza
A 190-meter painted borgo above the Sellustra valley, where contemporary artists have repainted the house walls every two years since 1960.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Dozza is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia and Bandiera Arancione.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 37 min from Bologna
- Population
- 6,569
- J8°
- F13°
- M15°
- A18°
- M23°
- J29°
- J32°
- A31°
- S26°
- O21°
- N13°
- D9°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Dozza sits on a low ridge above the Sellustra valley, six kilometers from Imola and twenty-five southeast of Bologna. The medieval village runs along a single curved spine of stone houses, with the Rocca Sforzesca closing the upper end. Caterina Sforza rebuilt the fortress at the end of the fifteenth century on the remains of earlier Bolognese defences; the Malvezzi-Campeggi family turned it into a palazzo in the late sixteenth century, and the cellars now hold the Enoteca Regionale dell'Emilia-Romagna, which curates the wines of the whole region.
The Biennale del Muro Dipinto began in 1960, when the opening of the Rocca to the public was paired with a contemporary-painting competition that worked directly on the village walls. Over sixty years later, more than 100 murals cover the borgo, repainted and added to every other year by invited Italian and international artists. The municipality holds Borghi più belli and Bandiera Arancione recognition. Population 6,569.
How to get there
From Bologna (BLQ), about 36 min by car.
Rimini (RMI) is about 1 h 28 min away.
By car from the center of Parma 1 h 29 min.
Coming by train into Bologna Centrale? Dozza is about 34 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Bologna airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Rocca Sforzesca
Late fifteenth-century fortress rebuilt by Caterina Sforza, transformed into a palazzo by the Malvezzi-Campeggi family at the end of the 1500s.
Muro Dipinto
Over 100 murals on the house walls of the medieval village, repainted and added to every two years since the first Biennale in 1960.
Enoteca Regionale dell'Emilia-Romagna
Regional wine cellar inside the Rocca's underground levels, curating about 800 labels from across the region's DOC and DOCG zones.
Borgo Antico
Single-spine medieval village of stone houses running along the ridge between the lower gate and the Rocca, almost entirely intact.
Galleria d'Arte del Muro Dipinto
Gallery inside the Rocca holding the bozzetti and the original wall sections detached during restoration of older murals.
Living here
Could you live here?
Dozza meets our one rule for a small town.
- 6,569 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Imola, a city of 69,403, is 15 min by car. Closer than our 30 to 60 minutes: handy for everything, so check the town still keeps a life of its own.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 6,569, down 0.2% since 2015
- Nearest city Imola, 15 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Imola, 8 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,300 to €1,800 per m² to buy, €5.50 to €8.00 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Commuter belt
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 44% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Bologna airport (BLQ), 36 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Bologna, 37 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
8% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Morocco and China, against 9% across Italy. There are 197 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 12% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Bologna province ranks 4th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Imola, 8 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Bologna, 28 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Bologna, 28 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Bologna, 27 km as the crow flies. There are 2 within 30 km.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds between 0.5% and 0.79% to your income tax, depending on your income. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Emilia-Romagna spends about €2,500 a month, €560 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €604 a year for water, on the Emilia-Romagna average. In Bologna, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.35, a meal in a pizzeria €12.93 and a man's haircut €21.06.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 3% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 35% in a high or medium one. They show no residents in a high landslide zone.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
MURO DIPINTO
Biennale of contemporary mural painting since 1960; over 100 works on the house walls of the village, refreshed every other year.
ROCCA SFORZESCA
Caterina Sforza's late fifteenth-century fortress, now holding the Regional Enoteca with 800 Emilia-Romagna wine labels in the cellar.
REGIONAL ENOTECA
Curated cellar of Emilia-Romagna DOC and DOCG wines inside the Rocca, the institutional reference point for the region's production.
PROTECTED PRODUCTS
The commune also lies inside the Formaggio di Fossa di Sogliano DOP, Asparago verde di Altedo IGP and Piadina Romagnola / Piada Romagnola IGP production zones.
Common questions
- What is Dozza known for?
- Dozza is a 190-meter painted borgo above the Sellustra valley, where contemporary artists have repainted the house walls every two years since 1960.
- Where is Dozza?
- Dozza is a comune in the province of Bologna, in Emilia-Romagna, at 190 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Dozza?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Bologna (BLQ), about 36 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Parma to Dozza?
- About 1 h 29 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Dozza?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 12 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Dozza?
- Brisighella, Longiano and Corigliano d'Otranto.
- How many people live in Dozza?
- 6,569 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Dozza a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Dozza is a small town that meets our one rule. The nearest city, Imola, is 15 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Imola, 8 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 44% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
The numbers
- Elevation: 190 m
- Population: 6,569
- Surface area: 24.23 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Dozza appears in
- The best cheese towns within two hours of BolognaNear Bolognawithin 2 hourscheese zone6 towns · smallest 1,964 residents · closest 37 min away
- The best towns known for what they grow within 45 minutes of BolognaNear Bolognawithin 45 minproduce zone6 towns · smallest 6,569 residents · closest 37 min away
- The best hill towns within 75 minutes of BolognaNear Bolognahill townwithin 75 min8 towns · smallest 1,779 residents · closest 26 min away
- The best wine towns within 75 minutes of RiminiNear Riminiwithin 75 minwine zone8 towns · smallest 6,505 residents · closest 30 min away
- The best towns known for what they grow within two hours of FlorenceNear Florencewithin 2 hoursproduce zone10 towns · smallest 4,592 residents · closest 98 min away
Similar
Towns like Dozza
What all six share with Dozza: inland, away from the coast · between 3,000 and 10,000 people · near sea level
The letter
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